Ex †Basketball Player Essay - 1084 Words

In the poem, â€Å"Ex – Basketball Player† by john Updike, (which is a narrative poem) illustrates the nature of life on how life is potentially is seen has a mirror to other people’s life, especially people who play sports. Life is the physical and mental experience of an individual. An in the poem the main character Flick, supply the poem with a good example of how life is potentially a mirror for other people. This poem is formally organized, even though it locks some qualities, it still haves the qualifications of a good poem. The â€Å"Ex Basket Player† is an interested poem because it has a good theme, tone and lots of figurative languages. The theme of this poem is about a high school basketball star that has become less successful in the†¦show more content†¦In fact, Flick was obsessed with is past because he choose to work at Berth which was near to his school (7). By doing so his life became a disappointment to him in the future. Even though he was successful at one point because he set â€Å"records† (16), his past is only a constant remainder to him because â€Å"he sells gas, checks oil, and changes flats (20).† He regrets what he has become because he knew that if only he had fallowed his past, he would have been successful now. Secondly, in the poem, there were lots of figurative languages that help to bring out the reality of Flick’s life. In fact, in the first stanza, Updike uses imagery to try to bring out the schools location, in which Flick success was endure in the past. Updike uses imagery to portray a fainted, smudged world of the present and compare it with the radiant, immaculate and brilliance of Flick’s past. Imagery is initially used in the first two lines of the poem, â€Å"where Pearl Avenue bends with the trolley tracks and stops, cut off (1-2).† Those two lines show how Flick’s life has been cut short, just like the road that leads to Berth’s Garage where he works. The trolley tracks that pass by the high school Flick went to, but just like him, it doesn’t go very far beyond. The words â€Å"cut off (2),† are very important in the understanding of Flick’s circumstances. His days of fame came to an immediateShow MoreRelatedJohn Updikes Poem Ex-Basketball Player1225 Words   |  5 Pages Ex-Basketball Player Most everyone has had an extraordinary dream; for some, it is to be a movie star or to be on a professional sports team. Nevertheless, while great goals they are, they are not likely. For example, about 1 and 70,000 people become a major movie star (study.com). Additionally, the likelihood of entering the NBA from high school is 3 and 100,000 (ehow.com). Therefore, the great majority are obligated to find something else to pursue. As a result of peoples dreamsRead More The Ex Basketball Player by John Updike Essay597 Words   |  3 PagesThe Ex Basketball Player by John Updike A Loss of Motivation In English Seven we read a poem called the Ex Basketball Player by John Updike. The main characters name was Flick Webb. The poem explains how Flick lost motivation. In high school Flick was an excellent basketball player, if not, the best. After high school Flick didnt continue his basketball skills, and he never had tried as hard on his academics as he did on basketball. Flick now works at Berths Garage and has aRead MoreEx-Basketball Player by John Updike Essay1044 Words   |  5 Pagesof the basketball team? He still holds most of the records for the team. He scored more points than anyone else in the school’s history. He never studied much because he was an athlete. His basketball skills were going to take him places. But high school ended and there are no more games to be played. Where is that former all-star now? 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